'Back-To-Basics' business brings simplicity to budget management

CEO and Founder of new upstart business Back-to-Basics, Alison Gorrell, offers clients services in budget and financial management. (Katie Collins/News-Tribune)

For Alison Gorrell, finances are like a puzzle and she has made a personal mission of fitting the pieces back together for local individuals and businesses through her new start-up venture, ‘Back-To-Basics’ with a motto of helping others learn through her own life experience by “Understanding and surviving your finances, one step at a time”. “I’ve been there,” said Alison, a Washington native who recently moved to Morgan County with her husband Matthew. A 2000 graduate of Fort Morgan High School, Matthew, a current Naval Reservist, separated from active duty in 2011 and moved his family, including the couple’s two young sons, back to his roots to live closer to his family. “I struggled at times and felt I had nowhere to turn,” continued Alison. “Luckily, with a financial background, I was able to turn things around for my family, or at the very least, we were able to survive without losing everything. No one was there to help me, to guide me, or to tell me what choices were best for me. Sure, plenty of people had advice but they were lenders that were truly concerned about being paid or selling a product, or they were friends who meant well but had never been where I was. I learned for myself the best way to survive this economy and now I want to share what I have learned.

Advertisement

”Alison, who is a graduate from Oak Harbor High School in Washington and will receive her Associate of Arts in Accounting from the University of Phoenix, has accumulated years of experience in personal finance including a knowledge of programs from Peachtree to QuickBooks and Quicken and uses a wealth of life experience to bring simplicity in financial management to clients including individuals and businesses. For individual clients, Alison first sets up a consultation as she feels a hands-on, personal and individualized plan should be created as each situation varies. After that, clients are urged to be willing to open up their finances, even in cases where starting seems the hardest part. “I want to help others so that they don’t feel like they are sinking instead of swimming,” noted Gorrell. “I want my clients to be able to keep their heads above water, and I know it’s not always easy. The first step in ‘battling’ your bills is communication,” she continued. “You have to be able to make the hard phone calls, and they can be humiliating, but we must be willing to stand up for ourselves. I hope to instill more backbone in clients so that they don’t get bullied by companies.”Gorrell also states that the next step she takes for individual clientele is to discuss discretionary spending, where a budget can be cut or modified. “I believe discretionary spending is relevant,” maintained Gorrell, who notes this as a big difference between herself and many popular financial gurus such as Dave Ramsey. “I have read their teachings and they want people to give up everything, including going out, spending on coffee and, for instance, one of their first major household expenses they suggest to cut is cable. For our family, however,” continued Alison, “cable may not have been a necessity, but working opposite shifts, we found when we DVR our shows it provides us with 2-3 hours a week to spend together and for us, that is important.”Catering to individual needs and situations is one personal aspect that Gorrell brings to clients and now she has expanded her services to include businesses as well, though working with businesses was certainly not an initial intention of hers as she began her company. “I had a business approach me and ask if I could help, and I responded, “If you need me, I will be there”. I told them I would do what I could and set up an expense and income tracker as well as repaired their QuickBooks. That service I provide businesses now includes setting up accounting software correctly from beginning to end, or involves going in to make corrections to the software. I make sure financial statements print properly and can even teach staff to use accounting software properly.”A 30-year-old established business in Fort Morgan had this to say about Alison’s work: “Back-To-Basics helps you prioritize your needs. Alison’s program not only shows you where you’re at financially, it shows you where you’re going. It makes looking at your financial picture a LOT less scary!”Seeing first-hand just how much damage can be done by inaccurate financial statements has given Gorrell even more reason to assist businesses. One question posed most often to Gorrell as she starts up her ‘Back-To-Basics’ business has been the question of how will people afford the service, if they are in need of the service. “My answer to individuals and households is to charge just one-percent of the total household income for the entire month of service,” stated Gorrell. “For example, if a household makes $2,000 per month, my fee is $20 for the whole month. This fee is subject to change as the client improves their situation or has other needs from my company.”For businesses, Gorrell charges an hourly fee that can vary. “I have overcome so much in my life,” concluded Gorrell. “We’ve had to reinvent ourselves a few times, but I really believe that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and I just want people to have hope. I don’t guarantee anything,” she said, “and it’s not going to be easy or fast, but I will always do my best to help.” Gorrell will be offering a number of classes and workshops for anyone interested to attend at the East Morgan County Library in Brush, beginning with a Free Couponing Basics course on Monday, June 3 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. She will offer an Advanced Couponing Workshop at a cost of $5 per person on Monday, June 10 from 6:30-7:30pm at EMCL and a Stretching Your Pennies Workshop on Monday, June 17 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at a cost of $10 per person and $15 per couple. ‘Back-To-Basics’ offers household and individual services that also includes help in understanding technical terms and conditions on billing statements and help with discretionary spending, all on a confidential basis. To find out more about ‘Back-To-Basics’ or to set up your consultation, contact CEO and Founder Alison Gorrell at (970) 309-0383, or e-mail her at back-to-basics@outlook.com. You can also find ‘Back-To-Basics’ on facebook by searching Back to Basics LLC.

Article Comments

We reserve the right to remove any comment that violates our ground rules, is spammy, NSFW, defamatory, rude, reckless to the community, etc.

We expect everyone to be respectful of other commenters. It's fine to have differences of opinion, but there's no need to act like a jerk.

Use your own words (don't copy and paste from elsewhere), be honest and don't pretend to be someone (or something) you're not.

Our commenting section is self-policing, so if you see a comment that violates our ground rules, flag it (mouse over to the far right of the commenter's name until you see the flag symbol and click that), then we'll review it.